


Steven Universe in Gravity Falls

by Ohshitmyship



Category: Gravity Falls, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gravity Falls - Freeform, Multi, SU/GF, Steven Universe - Freeform, Steven goes to Gravity Falls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23897185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohshitmyship/pseuds/Ohshitmyship
Summary: Steven Universe is on the back half of his cross-country journey when his car breaks down in the middle of Oregon, near the sleepy town of Gravity Falls. Of course, Steven senses something weird about the town and decides to check it out. When he finds a Gem Relic at the Mystery Shack, Steven knows there is something truly weird going on, and he is going to find out.
Relationships: Bismuth/Pearl (Steven Universe), Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 274
Kudos: 1082





	1. The Sapphire Mirror

Steven knew exactly what drew him to Gravity Falls.

He’d finished his cross-country roadtrip and was planning on swinging back around when his car broke down in the middle of the woods in Oregon. He’d googled the nearest towtruck company and allowed him and his car to be taken to a quiet town.

Or, it  _ seemed  _ quiet.

To be honest, the moment they crossed the town line, Steven knew something was off. Not necessarily wrong, but certainly not normal. During his travels, Steven had come across his fair share of weird things. They were sometimes gem-related and solved quickly, other times it was just odd. He’d made a habit of trying to address the weirdness in whatever place he found himself in before moving on. 

So if Gravity Falls was weird, there had to be a reason for it. Steven had to find that reason.

In town, he found the nearest Bed and Breakfast, since it was rather late. There was only one, and it was owned by a man with a woodpecker on his shoulder whom he spoke to rather fondly. Steven slept there, and knew he was going to be there a while the moment he closed his eyes.

* * *

_ Steven’s eyes opened into a black void, pinpricks of light scattered around him. During his travels he’d honed his ability to hop into other people’s dreams. Not his favourite thing to do, but the town was strange, and he needed to know where to start. _

_ There, in the distance. A green spark, flashing wildly. A nightmare, most likely. Steven reached out to it in his mind and found himself in his host’s eyes. _

_ The world looked like a death metal album colour.  _

_ The sky was red, fires raged throughout the city, a giant pyramid floated through the sky, which had a massive tear in it, revealing bright, swirling colours. There was fear as he looked down from a roof onto the chaos below. He heard a laugh then, deep, maniacal, bone-chilling. A single eye took up his vision, surrounded by yellow. _

_ “Get out!” Steven’s host cried, “You’re gone! Get out of my head!” _

_ Amazingly, he felt himself being thrust from his host’s dream. Deciding that he’d seen enough, Steven let go, and descended into his own true sleep. _

* * *

The next day, Steven made it his mission to find out whatever he could about the strange town.

When he went to the mechanic’s, the man sighed as he popped the hood.

“This is gonna take a few days,” he warned Steven, “Something’s wrong with the engine.”

“That’s alright,” Steven assured, “I’m just travelling anyways. Speaking of, is there anything exciting about this town?”

The mechanic shot Steven a suspicious look before shrugging, “No more exciting than any other small town.”

“Sure, but you gotta have ghost stories, right?” Steven prompted.

“Look, kid,” the mechanic grumbled, “Don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Stop looking for ghosts – they ain’t real and you ain’t gonna like what you find.”

Of course, that only made Steven want to know  _ more. _

His next stop was the Gravity Falls museum. 

It showcased the town’s simple, if not quirky history. It was where he learned of the town’s founding, of the Northwest Mansion, and that it was legal to marry a woodpecker.

Steven tried to not think too hard about that last one.

Instead, he noticed that there was  _ nothing  _ strange. In most of the towns he visited, they had their legends, their fairy tales and ghost stories. But there was absolutely nothing of the sort in the museum. 

After that, Steven headed to a local diner recommended by the museum’s greeting desk, a joint called Greasy’s Diner. It lived up to the name, but Steven’s potato leek soup was pretty good and he loved the lemon meringue pie.

As he ate at the counter, he spoke to the owner of the restaurant, an older woman who introduced herself as Lazy Susan. 

“So have you lived here your whole life?” 

“Born and raised,” she confirmed as she wiped down the counter.

“So you probably know a lot about the town then, huh?”

“Of course! Are you looking for something specific? Maybe I can help.”

“Actually, you might be able to. This is kind of random, but do you know where I can find anything strange?”

Lazy Susan stopped, her good eye darting back at him nervously, “Strange?”

“Yeah, like ghosts, or Bigfoot,” Steven suggested, “I uh, I’m really into urban legends.”

“Oh!” That seemed to relax her, because she was back to smiling at him, “Of course! You’ll want to go to the Mystery Shack for that!”

“The Mystery Shack?”

“Oh yes – it’s this cabin in the woods that was owned by a mysterious scientist and turned into a museum of weirdness. You should definitely check it out.”

“I think I will, thank you. Do you know if I could get a ride there? My car is in the shop and I’m not old enough to rent anything.”

“Of course dearie,” Lazy Susan replied happily, “I’m sure Wendy wouldn’t mind picking you up on her way into work! If you go down the main road, you’ll find the highschool. Classes end at 2 and I’ll call her dad to let her know.”

“Thank you very much,” Steven said, making sure to leave a generous tip on the counter. After all, Lazy Susan had tipped Steven off plenty.

After wandering around the quaint town for a little bit, Steven found his way to the school and waited by the sign. It always felt so strange, seeing school. He’d visited Connie’s school once or twice, but it never felt _ real. _ Steven had been taught pretty much everything he needed by his dad or the Gems. Sure, he had gaps in his knowledge of the world, but they were being filled more every day.

Every now and then, Steven couldn’t help but wonder what his life might have been like if he were entirely human. He could imagine it – he had a very active imagination – but it seemed so entirely alien a concept. The Gems and being a Crystal Gem was all he had ever known. To be so entirely human was an alternate reality.

He was suddenly jarred from his thoughts as the school bell rang, signalling the end of the day. He perked up and scanned the crowd, belatedly realizing that he had no idea what this Wendy looked like.

Soon enough though, a woman with long red hair pinned back in a blue baseball cap locked eyes with him and waved. He waved back as she approached.

“Hey!” She greeted cheerfully, “My dad texted me, said some dude would be waiting. You heading to the Mystery Shack?”

“Yeah, my name’s Steven,” he said as he held out his hand, “I’m guessing you’re Wendy.”

“Yup! C’mon, I borrowed my Dad’s truck for the day, it’s just in the parking lot.”

“I really appreciate it,” Steven said as Wendy guided him to the parking lot beside the school, “I know it’s a weird favour to ask.”

“Trust me,” Wendy said with a laugh, “I’ve done weirder.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“We don’t have nearly enough time to get into it,” she replied easily, “All you gotta know is that this town has got its secrets.”

“I figured. It’s why I’m heading to the Mystery Shack.”

As Steven spoke to Wendy, he found that her voice was rather familiar. When they got to her car and she groaned at a raccoon in the truck bed, he realized why.

“Get out!” She told it, kicking at the wheel, “Ugh, I can’t leave with the damn thing in my car.”

“Here,” Steven offered, stepping up on the wheel, “I’ll grab him.”

“You sure, man? Raccoons aren’t pets.”

“I know,” he assured her. He knelt down and held out his hands, smiling at the raccoon that was pushing itself into a corner, “It’s okay,” he said softly, “I won’t hurt you.”

Carefully, he reached out and touched the raccoon – gently, just enough to make contact, to let his emotions flow through and let it know he didn’t mean any harm.

The racoon let him pick it up, and he turned to Wendy with a smile, “See? Easy peasy.”

“Cool,” Wendy mused, watching as Steven hopped down from the truck bed and walked over to the grass, setting the raccoon down, “You didn’t get bitten or anything?”

“Nah. I’m just good with animals.”

“If you say so.”

The way Wendy looked at him was clearly suspicious. She didn’t entirely trust him. Most people didn’t, but that often changed.

As Steven got into the passenger seat of Wendy’s truck, he knew for certain that it was her dream he had entered the night before.

Of course he wouldn’t say anything – his dream-hopping skill was definitely weird, and he didn’t want Wendy any more suspicious of him.

“So,” she finally asked, “Where you from, Steven?”

“Beach City. It’s in Delmarva. And you’re from Gravity Falls?”

“Yup. What brings you all the way out here?”

Steven shrugged, watching the trees pass them by as they passed through wilderness, “I went through some stuff back home so I decided to take a road trip. I was actually on my way back when my car broke down. Thought I might as well check out the town.”

Wendy laughed, “Too bad for you. Isn’t a whole lot to do in a small town like this.”

“I’m sure I’ll find a way to stay busy. Anyways, you work at the Mystery Shack?”

“Yeah,” she admitted, “The original owner hired me as a general help. He’s since left to go travelling with his brother, so the Shack was passed on to our handyman, Soos.”

“Cool. What sort of stuff is in the Mystery Shack?”

Wendy snorted, “If I tell you, you won’t pay the admission fee.”

Steven laughed at that, but he wondered how true it really was.

When they pulled in to the clearing where the Shack sat, Steven knew something was up. It was an old, large log cabin with a giant wooden sign reading  _ MYSTERY HACK _ , the S having fallen on the roof.. There were a handful of golf carts parked along the drive all bearing a question mark, the same that sat atop the roof as a weathervane. The building itself was unassuming, nothing more than a tourist trap. But there was something else, too. The clearing around the house seemed too clean, the woods too dark at the edges. There was  _ something  _ in that house.

When Steven stepped out from Wendy’s truck, he thought he saw a pair of wide eyes staring at him from the underbrush. Too intelligent to be an animal, too small to be human.

“C’mon,” Wendy said as she walked up the front porch, “I’ll have Soos give you the grand tour.”

“Thanks.”

Wendy opened the door for him to the main entrance and he saw a hallway lined with everything the museum left out. Images and displays ranged from popular urban legends like a jackalope or Bigfoot to things that were impossible like a multi-bear. Strangely, the impossible things had higher quality pictures. One thing caught his eye, shoved on a shelf with dubious skeletons, a cluster of crystals He couldn’t tell immediately what they were, and he doubted a corrupt gem would just sit there unbubbled and not cause trouble but...better safe than sorry.

As he walked over to it, he heard a voice say, “Welcome to the Mystery Shack!”

Steven turned to see a man in a red fez and suit holding a cane with an eightball on top of it, smiling at him. 

“Soos, this is Steven,” Wendy introduced,”He’s looking for weird stuff.”

“Then you came to the right place!” Soos assured, “We’ve got tons of weird things! Let me show you around!”

“Great!”

“I’ll see you later,” Wendy said with a smile, “I’ll be in the gift shop.”

“Okay!”

“Now, let’s begin the tour! We can start off with the Rock that Looks Like A Face! It’s a rock, and it looks like a face!”

Steven smiled and snapped a quick picture of it, mostly because it was rather ironic that the first thing presented to him was a human-like rock. Actually, in just the right lighting, it looked a little bit like Blue Diamond.

As Soos continued leading Steven through the museum, he kept things interesting, switching between legitimately interesting things and stuff that was just...stuff slapped together. But Steven enjoyed it, and the house did have an eerie feel to it. He held off on questions though – everyone in the town seemed reluctant to answer questions about strange things.

“And with our cyclops-horse, our tour ends here!” Soos declared, opening the door to a brightly lit room filled with souvenirs, “Here is our gift shop! Any questions?”  
“A couple, yeah,” Steven admitted, “What do you think is the weirdest thing to happen to you in the town?”

“Oh, our mailman is definitely a werewolf,” Soos said wholeheartedly, “But that’s more of a daily thing. One time, me and the Mystery Twins went on a hunt for the legendary Gobblewonker, a lake monster. Turned out it was just a giant robot though.”

“The Mystery Twins?”

“Oh, yeah! Mr. Pines is the owner of this place,” Soos told him, “He has a twin niece and nephew and they came down to stay the summer, they’ll come again this year too.”

“Hey, Soos!”

They both turned as Wendy poked her head in through the back door, “I need help moving this new box of gems. It’s too heavy.”

“Here, let me help,” Steven offered, following Wendy out into the yard, where a small delivery truck was filled with boxes. He grabbed the large box marked  _ fragile _ and lifted it easily, “Where do you want it?”

“Just set it down inside – isn’t it heavy?” Wendy asked, “I could hardly move it.”

“I’m uh, stronger than I look,” Steven said, turning and quickly walking back inside before Wendy could ask any more questions. Once he did, he felt something...strange. An emotion. Feeling trapped.

_ Uh oh. _

Once he was inside, he tore open the box. Soos had gone out to help Wendy, so Steven was alone.

There, surrounded by styrofoam and packing peanuts, was a gem artefact.

It was a full-length mirror, the silvery edges carved with Gem runes. Carefully, he pulled it out and set it upright. Sure enough, there was a sapphire at the very top, no doubt powering it.

“Oh, thanks for unpacking it!” Soos said cheerfully, “I found that online – it’s supposed to be a mirror that tells your future. Apparently it doesn’t work though, and no one knows the language on the side.”

Steven ran his hand along the runes. Like most Homeworld metal, it didn’t fade. The mirror was probably made by a Bismuth.

“Why’d you buy it then?” Wendy asked, “If it doesn’t work.”

“We can probably set up something with a projector.”

“Fair enough.”

Steven wasn’t really listening, staring into the mirror and wondering what he was supposed to do. The sapphire at the top was cracked every so slightly – impressive that it wasn’t more damaged, considering the mirror had to be thousands of years old.

As his fingers traced the runes, he whispered them under his breath. In the years after ending the Diamonds’ reign, he’d learned Gem so he could better communicate.

Sure enough, once he spoke the words, the mirror started to glow with a soft blue light.

“Woah!”

Steven turned to the two humans behind him, who looked only mildly shocked.

“How’d you do that man?” Wendy asked.

“I uh...this sort of stuff is my specialty?”

“Cool."

“Please, ask a question.”

The three of them jumped as the soft feminine voice spoke. It sounded so much like Steven’s own Sapphire that he began to feel homesick.

“What will I eat for dinner?” Soos asked excitedly.

“You will eat something called a burrito,” the mirror Sapphire responded, their images being replaced with that of Soos sitting in a kitchen, eating said burrito.

“Gasp! That’s exactly what I was gonna have!”

“Oh, will I fail any classes this year?” Wendy asked.

“You will have trouble with math, but you will pull through. Your father will be proud.”

The image shifted to a large man with curly red hair trapping Wendy in a headlock, the two of them silently laughing.

“Hey Steven, you should ask a question!”

“Uh…” He looked at the mirror, very uncomfortable. He was reminded rather heavily of Lapis and what she had gone through, “You’re a Sapphire, right? Were you in Blue Diamond’s court?”

“I...I was.” The voice sounded sad and the images faded away. They were soon replaced by images of the Arena – where Blue Diamond held her court, “I was called in to replace a disgraced Sapphire. I was not able to safely predict their attack, so Blue Diamond decided I would be more useful without my physical form.”

“Blue Diamond?” Wendy spoke up, “Who the heck is Blue Diamond?”

“One of the four great Diamond Authorities,” Sapphire replied, the image changing to Blue’s mural, “And the third youngest of the Diamonds, followed only by Pink.”

“Can’t say I like how a Diamond Authority sounds,” Wendy grumbled, walking behind the cash register, seemingly searching for something.”

“What is the Diamond Authority?” Soos asked.

“I’m sure it’s nothing!” Steven chirped, moving to stand in front of the mirror. Of course, that did nothing to quiet the obedient Sapphire.

“The Diamond Authority is ruled by four divine Diamonds not of this world: White, Yellow, Blue, and Pink. Their rule spread across the galaxy, touching even this planet, your Earth, Pink Diamond’s colony.”

“Aight,” Wendy declared, marching over with a wooden baseball bat, “I think I’ve had enough of otherworldly beings trying to turn us into colonies.”

“Wait!” Steven cried, holding out his hands, “It’s okay, Earth isn’t a colony anymore! The Diamond Authority has dissolved its empire and brought peace to the galaxy.”

“This is all true,” the mirror added, “Now this planet is protected by the Crystal Gems, led by Rose Quartz, succeeded by her son, Steven Universe.”

Steven glanced behind him and saw a montage of silent images – moments from his times with the Gems.

“Okay this has all gone pretty weird pretty quick,” Steven said, trying very hard to stay mellow, “I promise I’ll explain everything in a minute, but I need to take care of the gem in this mirror.”

“I knew you were weird,” Wendy said, hefting her bat. The moment she took a step forward, Steven summoned a bubble around him and the mirror. She swung her bat against it, but it bounced off harmlessly.

“What the hell?” She demanded, hitting it again.

Wasting no time, Steven turned to the mirror and reached up, his fingers grasping the gem.

“Steven… he shall free me.”

Steven plucked the gem from its place at the top of the mirror and kissed it gently, allowing his magic to heal it. Sure enough, it began to glow while the mirror faded. Soon, a Sapphire materialized in front of him, hands clasped in front of her chest.

“Thank you, my Diamond.”

“It’s just Steven,” he said, “And no worries. I think we should catch up, and I can introduce you to other gems. Do you know where the nearest warp pad is?”

“In the forest. I can show you.”

“Great.”

Steven undid his bubble and turned to see the shocked expressions of the humans.

“I’ll be back,” he promised as he took Sapphire’s hand, “I promise. Sorry about the mirror.”

They let him leave, guided into the forest by the psychic gem. As he glanced back and saw them, he waved. While he was glad to help a fellow gem, he knew that wasn’t the only weird thing about Gravity Falls, and he wasn’t leaving until he learned more.


	2. Weird, but Not In The Gravity Falls Kinda Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so I did NOT expect the quick reception the first chapter got and I'm really happy!!!! I'm so glad y'all like this!!!
> 
> So some quick details: this takes place about a year or so after SUF and a year after GF, around late spring. TBH I really would like Steven to chill in Gravity Falls and kinda dablle in the weird, but then the twins come along and hes RIGHT BACK INTO IT AGAIN
> 
> anyways thanks again y'all and Happy Reading:)

“How did you know to free me?” Sapphire asked, her hand still holding onto Steven’s. He noticed that her gem was located on her right shoulder.

“One of my friends was trapped in a mirror too,” Steven explained, “I know it’s not fun.”

“Better than being shattered, Steven.”

“Right.”

As they walked through the woods, straying from any sort of path, Steven began to feel...odd. He felt as though they were being watched by a thousand eyes, hidden amongst the brush. He heard scurrying through the undergrowth and no matter what he told himself, he knew it wasn’t just animals.

“The warp pad is just through here,” Sapphire told him, leading him through a particularly thick grove of trees. When they passed through, Steven could hardly believe his eyes – which was saying something, because Steven had seen some  _ shit. _

There, in the centre of the clearing, was a warp pad. It was surrounded by mushrooms and wildflowers and sat in a small clearing. This was normal stuff, as nature tended to be attracted to gem magic.

However, the  _ weird  _ came in the form of a dozen or so tiny men with pointy hats and bushy beards running around on it, playing a game that looked very similar to Duck, Duck, Goose.

The little men couldn’t have been any higher than Steven’s knees, and they hadn’t noticed him or Sapphire, too engrossed in their game. However, they were right on the warp pad, and Steven couldn’t very well use it with them on it. So he cleared his throat and stepped into the clearing, catching their attention.

“Hey, guys!” He said, trying for friendliness. The men in front of him were  _ definitely  _ not gem-related, and looked entirely confused by him, “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I use that big crystal thing you’re sitting on? It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Um excuse me,” one of the little men said haughtily, this one with a brown beard instead of grey, “But who exactly do you think you are to be challenging the gnomes?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Steven said, “My name is Steven, and this is Sapphire. I don’t mean to challenge you, I just need to borrow that thing you’re all sitting on. You can have it back when I’m done, and I won’t take long.”

“Hey, wait a sec, I know you!”

“You do?” Maybe this was gem-related after all.

“Yeah! You must know Mabel Pines! You’re wearing her symbol!” The gnome pointed excitedly at Steven’s blue shirt with a yellow star on it – the symbol of the Crystal Gems.

“Hey, Sapphire,” he whispered, “What’ll happen if I say I know Mabel?”

“They’ll let you pass.”

“Oh. Great.” He turned back to the gnomes and grinned, “Uh, yeah! I know Mabel Pines! So cool! Actually, I need to use that crystal for official Mabel business.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” The little man said eagerly, the rest of them scurrying off the warp pad.

“Thanks!”

Steven and the Sapphire walked onto the warp pad and warped away, watching the creatures’ awed faces disappear in a beam of blue light.

When the light died down, they were on top of the communications tower of Little Homeworld. A familiar gem sat with her back to them, holding a notebook in her lap and sketching the scenery.

“Lapis!”

The blue gem turned at her name and grinned when she saw Steven. She dropped her art supplied and rushed over, tackling Steven in a bear hug.

“Steven! How’ve you been?” She asked, pulling away to grin at him.

“I’ve been good! I actually found a new gem.” He stepped to the side and gestured to the Sapphire, “Sapphire, this is Lapis. I think you two will have a lot in common.”

“Ah, you must be the Lapis Lazuli that was trapped in a mirror as well,” the Sapphire mused.

“Oooh, another mirror gem?” Lapis shook her head, “It’s not fun. Don’t worry though, Little Homeworld is a perfect place to adjust to life on Earth, or if you want you can talk to one of the Pearls about going to live back on Homeworld.”

“How helpful.”

“Yup!” Lapis turned back to Steven, “Are you staying?”

“No, sorry. I uh, kind of left something unfinished. I was gonna show this Sapphire around before heading back.”

“I got it,” Lapis assured him, “You go back and finish what you were doing.”

“Thanks! And tell everyone I said hi!”

“For sure!”

With a grin, Steven warped back to the pad in the forest, thanked the little men, and jumped into the air. The forest was dense and unfamiliar – if he stayed on the ground, there was no way that he would be able to find his way back.

Less than an hour after he had left, Steven went back to the Mystery Shack. As he opened the door, he heard a new voice talking to Soos and Wendy.

“He just  _ created  _ a magical being from a rock?”

“I guess!” Wendy cried, “It was just a bunch of light then  _ whoosh _ , there was a girl with blue skin and hair covering her eyes.”

“Actually,” Steven said with a smile as he opened the door, “Sapphires only have one eye.”

The three humans turned to him in shock. The new girl looked to be in her twenties, with curly blonde hair and a green question mark tee-shirt, the same as Wendy’s.

“Sorry that took so long, but I did promise I’d come back.”

“Dude, what  _ was  _ that?” Soos demanded, “You like, glowed pink and there was a giant pink bubble and a blue girl! Oh, by the way this is my girlfriend Melody.”

“Hi Melody, I’m Steven. And uh. It’s kind of a lot to explain.”

“Why don’t we all sit down?” Melody offered, “Come into the kitchen and I can make some tea or something.”

“I’ll close the store!” Soos declared while Melody led Steven and Wendy further into the house, through a hallway into a small kitchen. They sat at the round kitchen table while Melody bustled about in the kitchen.

“So uh, do you and Soos live here?” Steven asked.

“Yup! His grandma lives with us too, but she kind of comes and goes. Where did you say you were from, Steven?”

“Beach City. It’s in Delmarva.”

“I went there once, actually.”

“Really? When?”

“Pfft, would’ve been, what? Five years ago? Me and some friends stopped there on our road trip to Empire City. It was a nice place, awesome boardwalk. I remember there was this massive temple carved into the cliffside, but everyone told us we shouldn’t get near it.”

“Oh yeah, that’s my house,” Steven said, “Me and the Gems all live there. Well, I don’t anymore, but they’ve been there for centuries.”

“Centuries?” Wendy asked, “How old are you?”

“I’m seventeen, but the Gems are all a few thousand years old.”

“Okay, I wanna hear more of this,” Soos said as he came into the kitchen, taking off his fez and setting it on the table. Melanie came and gave them each a cup of tea before sitting down herself. All three of them turned to look at Steven expectantly.

Steven nervously took a sip of his tea before beginning.

“So… there are aliens. Specifically there’s a race called Gems – they’re basically magical gemstones like that Saphire back there. I’m also a Gem, well, half-Gem. My dad was a human and my mom gave up her physical form to become me.”

“Wasn't your mom one of the Diamonds or something?” Wendy said, pointing a finger at him, “One of those intergalactic emperors? That’s what the mirror said.”

“She  _ was _ ,” Steven admitted, “But around five thousand years ago, she was given Earth as a colony. When she realized how much life was on it, how by colonizing the planet they would ruin it, she tried to decolonize. But the other Diamonds wouldn’t let her, so she adopted a secret identity as Rose Quartz and started a rebel group called the Crystal Gems to kick the Gems off Earth. It ended with her faking her own shattering – er, that’s how a Gem dies, if their gemstone is shattered. The other Diamonds thought Pink Diamond was dead, so they launched an attack on Earth, something called the Corrupting Light. Any Gem not protected by my mom during the attack was, well, corrupted.”

“Corrupted? Like a computer virus?” Soos asked.

“Kinda, yeah. Corrupted Gems couldn’t think properly, and they were basically turned into monsters. Me and the Crystal Gems made it our duty to stop these Corrupted Gems.”

“That’s great, but is Earth still a colony?” Wendy demanded.

“Are we controlled by these Diamonds?” Melody asked.

“No,” Steven assured, “It’s uh...a long and kind of complicated story, but I managed to tell the Diamonds what  _ really  _ happened to Pink Diamond, that she became Rose Quartz, then became me. After that, I taught the Diamonds peace and they disbanded their empire and we began healing all of the Corrupted Gems. We actually have a place in Beach City called Little Homeworld where Gems can get used to living on Earth.”

“So what was that blue girl doing in the mirror?” Soos asked.

“During Eras 1 and 2 – before the Diamonds disbanded the Empire – they had a nasty habit of turning useful Gems into objects. See, a Gem’s sentience is contained in their actual gemstone, their physical form is basically just a hologram with mass. If you take a Gem and put it into an object, they won’t be able to form anymore, trapped in the object. It’s not the first Gem Mirror I’ve seen.”

“So there’s a magical alien race called Gems,” Wendy began, “who colonized earth, but your mom, this,  _ Pink Diamond _ , rebelled and freed us, but then a bunch of rebel Gems were corrupted? How long ago was this?”

“Five thousand three hundred years, give or take,” Steven recalled, “Earth has been freed for a long time, and the Great Diamond Authority has been disbanded for about three years now.”

“And you said that you were the one that taught them peace?” Soos asked with wide eyes, “That’s so cool dude!”

“Um, thanks,” Steven said, smiling awkwardly, “It was a long road, and they’re still working on it, but the Diamonds are a lot better now.”

“Wait a second,” Wendy interrupted, “There’s one thing I don’t get. You said the Gems were basically holograms with mass, but you’re half-Gem. How the heck does that work?”

“Well, when my mom and dad wanted to have a child, Mom knew she couldn’t exist at the same time as me. She knew she would have to give up her physical form in order for me to be born. Mom then became me. Here.” Steven stood up and lifted up his shirt, revealing his gem. The three humans stared at it in awe.

“So – and this might be personal,” Melody began, “but...is...I mean… are you your own mom?”

“That’s complicated,” Steven admitted, sitting back down, “I have my mom’s gem, but Rose Quartz no longer exists. She became me – I’m not Rose or Pink Diamond, I’m Steven, through and through.” He chuckled a bit, “That answer actually took fourteen years for everyone to figure out, believe it or not.”

“So what are you doing in Gravity Falls?” Wendy asked.

“I really did come here by accident,” Steven promised, “My car did break down and I am on a bit of a self-discovery road trip. Since I’ve been travelling, I’ve come across a lot of weird things, most of which were Gem-related, so when I ended up in Gravity Falls, I could feel that something weird was going on. I thought it was just the mirror but...then I saw a bunch of little men in the woods.”

“Oh, you mean the gnomes?”

“The...what?”

“The gnomes,” Soos explained, “They’re little bearded dudes who hang around in the woods. Once they tried to kidnap Mabel to make her their queen. Didn’t work, and they’re pretty chill now.”

“Well, they’re definitely not Gem-related,” Steven said with a smile, “I have a feeling this town is weird on its own. Honestly I...I think I’d like to stay for a bit, but everyone in town doesn’t seem to like talking about anything weird.”

“We can’t,” Soos explained, “It’s like, a law.”

“A law?”

“Yeah,” Wendy added, “Last summer, some really weird and messed-up stuff happened. The townsfolk and the mayor decided that the best way to cope was to just kind of ignore it. Aside from a select few of us, no one really gets what happened, and no one wanted to talk about it anyways. People dodge questions about anything weird, especially from outsiders. If anyone asks about last summer, we’re told to say ‘nevermind all that’.”

“Aw, man,” Steven sighed, leaning back in his chair, “I was really hoping that I might be able to get some answers, but it doesn’t look like it.”

“Not from the townspeople,” Soos said, “but you came to the right place! The whole point of the Mystery Shack is to tell people about the weird things that happen in Gravity Falls!”

“Really? You’d tell me, even after...well…”

“You’re weird too,” Soos said enthusiastically, “Maybe not the same kinda weird that usually shows up here, but it’s still weird! You’ll fit right in! You can come to the Mystery Shack whenever you want dude! And if you stay another couple of months, you’ll meet the Pines family. I think they’ll like you a lot.”

“I’d like that,” Steven said with a smile, “I can’t wait to meet them.”


	3. The OG Mystery Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so I'm really debating changing the name of this fic? Like it feels SO clunky and I don't like it. If I do, then I'll put it in the notes for the next chapter what it'll be, then I'll change it the chapter after that
> 
> anyways, happy reading:)

Steven had spent just over a month in Gravity Falls, and he was surprised by how quickly he got used to it.

It was the longest he’d spent in one place since Beach City. The strangeness of the town was certainly a different pedigree of strange than what he grew up with, but it also felt so  _ natural. _ Honestly. Steven probably would’ve felt out of place in a normal town. 

Well, more so than he already did.

The town was small, only a few thousand residents in the area, much like Beach City. The people were friendly enough, but they were still plenty suspicious of him, and everyone seemed odd in their own way. Not that Steven judged, of course.

He’d settled in at the bed and breakfast, and since his car had been fixed, he spent most of his days at the Mystery Shack talking to Soos, Wendy, and Melody about the strange happenings of the town. Soos had even been kind enough to lend him three journals written by one Mr. Stanford Pines. Steven spent a lot of time reading them, and even added a couple of notes around anything that seemed Gem-related. 

However, the longer he stayed still, the more homesick he got.

Steven had gotten homesick before. After all, he’d been travelling the country for a year and only returned home for brief trips or holidays. It was easier to avoid homesickness if he kept moving, but Steven was absolutely enamoured by the mystery of Gravity Falls, the oddity that surrounded the whole town. He couldn’t bring himself to move on.

He wanted to visit the Gems, but he was _ really  _ reluctant to go back to the warp pad. He’d read more about the gnomes and realized that he’d gotten pretty darn lucky during his first encounter. Steven also wanted to see Connie, but it was now June, which meant final projects, exams, and lots of stress. Even Wendy and her friends were busy with school.

So, in the middle of the month on a particularly nice day, Steven decided to head to the Mystery Shack. Since summer was fast approaching, Soos was doing his best to prepare the Shack for the oncoming tourists, and Steven was more than happy to help out where he could. Chances were that Soos would find some job for him to do, manage to stave away the homesickness.

As Steven pulled into the driveway of the Mystery Shack, he noticed an old, red muscle car with a convertible top sitting at the entrance. As he pulled in closer, he managed to read the license plate: STNLYMBL.

“Huh, I guess we’ve got some tourists,” Steven said to himself as he parked his car beside them. He began to walk around the back, where the gift shop was. He rarely entered using the main door, as everyone who worked at the Shack made it clear he was welcome any time.

As Steven opened the door into the giftshop, he froze, staring at the scene in front of him.

Soos was trapped in a headlock by an older man with glasses and a red knitted cap, both of them laughing. Meanwhile, Melody chatted with another man who looked remarkably similar to the one wrestling Soos, and he wore a tattered trenchcoat with a red sweater.

“Oh, Steven!” Melody greeted when she saw him come in, “Perfect timing!”

“Steven!” Soos said cheerfully, escaping the man’s grip, “These are the original Pines Twins!”

“Don’t call us ‘original’!” The one with the hat snapped lightheartedly, “It makes us sound old!”

“Come now Stanley, we  _ are  _ old,” the other one joked before walking over to Steven and sticking out his hand, “I’m Stanford Pines, and this is my brother Stanley, but feel free to call us Ford and Stan. You must be the pink bubble boy that Soos told us about!”

Steven shook Ford’s hand and glanced at Soos, “Um, yeah, I guess. I didn’t know he told you much about me.”

“Sorry dude,” Soos said with an apologetic smile, “But these guys are all about weirdness! I had to tell them!”

“It’s true,” Ford said, “My brother and I have spent the past ten months travelling the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, cataloguing and controlling anomalies. Soos mentioned that you were part alien?”

“Um, yeah,” Steven said as Ford let go, “It’s uh, a long story. Oh hey, do you have six fingers?”

“Hmm? Oh yes!” He replied, holding up his hand and wiggling all six fingers, “I was born with a rather rare condition called polydactyly. My brother Stanley doesn’t have it, oddly enough.”

“Huh, cool,” Steven mused. He suddenly had a temptation to see what it would be like having six fingers but it would be  _ very  _ weird.

But then again, the two brothers claimed to be all about weird, and if Soos had already told them everything that Steven had said, well, why not?

So, he concentrated, and after a moment, a sixth finger grew right beside his pinky finger.

“This is pretty neat,” Steven admitted, twisting his hand to look at how strange it was.

“Wha– how? I mean – you can shapeshift?” Ford cried, pulling out a new, red leather-bound journal that looked identical to the others, “How are you able to do so? Have you always had this ability? What are your limits?”

“Uh…”

“Jeez Ford,” Stan suddenly spoke up, rolling his eyes as he did, “We’re home for five minutes and you’re already doing research. Why don’t we get some lunch and  _ then  _ you can dissect the kid?”

“Ah, right, apologies,” Ford said sheepishly, putting the journal away, “You’ll have to excuse me, I tend to get rather excited about the abnormal.”

“No worries,” Steven assured, getting rid of his sixth finger and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pink jacket, “So uh, lunch?’

* * *

“I can’t believe it!”

“Seriously?” Stan asked as he sipped his pop, his sandwich in his other hand, “You of all people should believe it.”

“Oh, I do!” Ford replied, “I don’t doubt that there is an entire race of alien women called Gems. What I  _ cannot  _ believe is how I didn’t know about it!”

The five of them were sat on the porch on the back of the Mystery Shack. Stan and Soos sat on the couch, while Melody perched on the arm beside Soos. Steven and Ford sat at the edge of the porch, all of them basking in the warm weather.

“Don’t feel too bad about it,” Steven offered, “After the Corrupting Light, there were only three Crystal Gems left, plus Amethyst, and they keep to themselves for the most part. Actually, everyone aside from my mom didn’t actually interact with humans until my dad came into the picture.”

“Still!” Ford protested, “An entire culture I didn’t even know about! In my own universe! Tell me Steven, have there been any other aliens on this planet?”

“Not that I know of. The Gems are pretty adamant about protecting Earth, and the Diamond Authority conquered a lot of other planets. But, what did you mean about ‘your universe’?”

“Oh, well,” Ford said with a sigh, “After an accident about thirty years ago, I was sent tumbling through the multiverse. It was actually quite strange, because I could travel between thousands of other dimensions, but I was never able to make it back to  _ this  _ world. I still haven’t entirely figured it out.”

“So you’re just hanging out in Gravity Falls?” Stan spoke up.

“Yep! I think I really like it here!”

“Makes sense, I guess. What’ve you been doing since you got here?”

“Not much,” Steven admitted with a shrug, “I have been going through your journals, exploring the woods on my own a little bit, getting used to the town. I really like it here.”

“It’s a lovely place, weirdness aside,” Ford mused.

“I think the weirdness suits me just fine. Honestly, it would probably be weird if I hadn’t landed somewhere like Gravity Falls. I’m so used to the paranormal, that the normal seems strange.”

“We’re with ya on that one kid,” Stan replied, “How long do you plan on staying?”

“Dunno. I don’t really have any other place to be.”

“Steven’s staying at a bed and breakfast in town,” Melody said, “And he’s been driving here a lot.”

“Geez kid, how ya paying for that?” Stan asked, “That shit ain’t cheap.”

“I uh, I have a bunch of money saved up.”

This, of course, was a complete lie. In truth, Steven’s only real need for money was usually for food or things he could buy online. The Gems seemed to have human money, and Greg had always been happy to treat Steven when he could; this meant that Steven had no money of his own. Which was fine, because his dad literally had no idea what to do with the seven million dollars he had left. It had taken him three years to go through three million, and most of that went towards Little Homeworld. So, Greg was more than happy to fund Steven’s roadtrip.

“If you’re planning on staying long, you should get a job,” Ford suggested, “I’m sure living in a bed and breakfast can be expensive.”

“Yeah, and they jack up the prices in about a month,” Stan added, “Tourist tax and all that. If you’re staying long, why not find an apartment in town or something?”

“I dunno...I don’t usually spend much time in one place.” Steven picked at his sandwich idly, “Besides, I don’t think I  _ could  _ get one, even if I tried.”

“Why not?” Melody asked.

“Well....according to the government, I don’t  _ technically  _ exist.”

“Excuse me?” Ford asked.

“I wasn’t born in a hospital,” Steven began, “And my mom was over eight thousand years old when she gave birth to me, so she doesn’t have a record either. I don’t have a social security number or a birth certificate.”

“Then how do you have a driver’s license?” Soos asked.

“I uh. Technically I don’t.

“ _ How _ ?” Melody cried, “You’re almost nineteen! You drive here! What do you  _ mean  _ you don’t have a driver’s license?!”

“I like your style, kid,” Stan said with a worrying grin, “No government ID, I respect that. How’s about tomorrow we sit down and I help create some ID for ya.”

“Really? You can do that? Is that even legal?”

“Word of advice kid – anything is legal if the cops aren’t looking.”


	4. Not a Nephrite Ship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late lmao, I have no excuse. But thanks all yall for the support!!!

It had been just over a week since the original Mystery Twins had rolled into town, and Steven really enjoyed their company.

True to his word, Stan had sat down with him one afternoon and helped him create identification, with which he could later use to get a job or an apartment. Stan was very good at it, and although Steven doubted the legality of it, Stan assured him that the information would hold up. When Stan took him to the Gravity Falls DMV, Steven was amazed by how easily he lied, and how  _ good  _ the lie was – Steven had lost his driver’s license, and needed a replacement. In no time at all, Steven had a temporary license with a new one on the way. Stan even helped him land an apartment in downtown, right above a jazz café.

Ford however, was  _ fascinated  _ by everything Steven had to tell him. Whenever Steve was at the Shack, Ford invited him down into his sci-fi basement lair and excitedly questioned him about all things Gem-related. Ford had actually started an entirely new journal, this one with a different logo from the rest; instead of a number in the centre of the hand, it was a black star – the symbol of the Crystal Gems. 

At the moment, Steven found himself in the company of Ford, hiking up a large hill that overlooked the entirety of Gravity Falls. Once they reached the top, the two stopped to catch their breath, looking over the town, its forests and cliffs as the summer breeze ruffled their hair.

“I fear I may be getting too old for this,” Ford joked as he cleaned off his glasses, “I used to be able to climb this hill in no time.”

“We all need breaks,” Steven assured him, “Besides, it’s a lovely view.”

“It is, isn’t it? Aside from the Shack, this was always one of my favourite places in the town. Although, I didn’t bring you here just for the view.”

“I figured as much. So, what are we doing here?”

“Well, this isn’t a natural hill. It’s actually an ancient alien ship that crash landed here thousands of years ago, forming the valley around it. See the formations of those rocks? My hypothesis is that the ship crashed between them.”

“I can see it,” Steven admitted, “So we’re sitting on the top of the ship right now?”

“Exactly! I’ve explored it as well as I’m able to, but I figure now that I have an actual alien, why not give it another go?”

“It’s probably a Gem ship, if it is here,” Steven guessed, “Probably from Era 1.” He stood up and offered his hand to Ford, who took it gratefully and stood with a small groan.

“Either way, I’d like to check to be sure. The entrance is here.” Ford walked over to a large rock and heaved it out of the way, revealing a hole in the metal with a rope leading down.

“Huh, cool.” Steven turned on his flashlight and hopped in, gently floating down. He would’ve offered to carry Ford, but Steven had learned that Ford preferred to do things his own way, which usually involved flashy, swashbuckling moves.

Sure enough, as Steven leisurely floated through the mass expanse, looking around the ship, Ford swirled down a rope he had, whooping as he passed Steven. He fell a little faster, so that he wouldn’t have to keep Ford waiting.

When they touched down on the floor, Ford grinned at him.

“So, what do you think?”

“It’s huge,” Steven admitted, “It looks big enough to be a Diamond’s vessel, but those are always body-shaped. It might just be a really big drop ship. It’s weird though – it doesn’t  _ look  _ like it was made on Homeworld?”

“Do keep in mind that this ship is thousands of years old,” Ford reminded him as he began to lead Steven through the expansive ship, “There’s a wall of writing up ahead that I want you to see. Fiddleford and I have spent a long time trying to decipher it, but it’s anyone’s guess.”

“I only know a little Gem,” Steven warned, shining his flashlight around him, “This may sound strange, but I don’t think this is a Gem ship.”

“What?”

“It’s just….the metal here is nothing like I’ve ever seen; on Earth, Homeworld, or any of the colonies. I’m not Bismuth, but...I dunno.”

“Perhaps time has affected it?”

Steven shook his head, “I’ve been to other Era 1 ships before, and they hold up pretty well. Also, the design is different. Gem ships are all about practicality – they almost never have curves and shapes like this, and the metal has never warped to make it this round.”

“Hmmm...interesting,” Ford mumbled, “Ah, here we are!”

By then, they had approached a wall that had multiple carvings on it, as well as something written in orange paint.

“We  _ think  _ that this may be instructions for how to start the ship,” Ford said, “Since we’re not far from the control room. What does it say?”

“That’s...not Gem.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s not what Gem writing looks like,” Steven said, walking forward and gently touching the wall, “It’s all squares and diamonds – there are no circles or triangles. A couple of the characters look the same, but it’s definitely not Gem.”

“And there’s  _ no way  _ the language could have changed at all within the past few thousand years?” Ford prompted, “Languages will do that.”

Steven shook his head, “No. Up until a couple of years ago, Homeworld hasn’t really changed since the Diamond Authority began. And unless they’re shattered, a Gem can’t grow old or die, so they’ve been speaking the same language since the very beginning. Pearl might know something about this though.” Steven took out his phone and snapped a photo. He went to send it to her, but there was no service. Ford had warned him that might happen.

“So if it isn’t Gem, what is it?” Ford wondered, swiping his flashlight around.

“What’s that?!” Steven cried as Ford’s light swept over a chair with a shape in it.

“Oh, that? It’s been dead for centuries.” 

As he said it, his face fell – apparently recalling what Steven had just told him about Gems’ immortality.

“Steven,” he said, his eyes locked on the skeleton, “You once told me that Gems are essentially holograms with mass.”

“Yeah, the only truly solid thing is their gemstone.”

“So they don’t have skeletons.”

“No. They don’t have bones.” Steven looked a little harder at the thing sitting in the chair – all bones with a broken helmet, slumped over a control panel, “That’s not a Gem.”

“So that means that there was  _ another  _ race of aliens here before the Gems?” Ford pulled out one of his journals, flipping through it excitedly, “I originally placed this ship here  _ millions  _ of years ago, but I changed the timeline when you started telling me more about the Diamond Authority. When exactly did the Gems come to Earth again?”

“Um, about six thousand years ago.”

“So it’s possible that another race touched down here! Well, it has to be, if you’re 100% sure this isn’t a Gem ship?”

“I’m sure.”

“Incredible!”

“Right.”

Ford seemed to notice the unease in Steven’s voice, because he closed his journal and frowned, “Steven, are you alright?”

“Just a little creeped out,” Steven admitted, “We can fix a Gem if they’re shattered or cracked, and I can...I have some healing abilities, but this is so old….”

“You wouldn’t want to bring them back,” Ford told him softly, “They’ve been dead for thousands, if not millions, of years. I have no clue whether or not their civilization is even... _ wait _ !”

Suddenly, Ford bolted down the hallway, leaving Steven to follow him. This wasn’t an issue of course, Steven could run faster than the speed of sound if he so wished, but it was still rather rude.

“What?” Steven asked when he caught up to Ford.

“Last time I was here with Dipper, we accidentally set off an ancient trap. A security droid kidnapped me and put me in a pod, and we figured out that it was sending me to an intergalactic prison.” They came to a drop-off, a large column in front of them, Ford grabbed a magnet gun and jumped, attaching to the column and gliding down. Steven sighed quietly to himself and followed.

“They took you?” He asked as they touched down again, Ford still rushing off.

“Well, Dipper got me out before it could eject.”

“I guessed that much, but the drone  _ actually  _ targeted you?”

“Yes, why?”

“Well Gem drones don’t target humans – only Gems. I thought that other drones might work the same?”

“Well, then it’s certain that it’s not a Gem ship! Ah, here!”

They came to a wall with several large, silvery, eye-lid shaped things jutting out from the wall. They were kinda gross.

“When it deposited me into one of these,” Ford began, “It looked like it was selecting coordinates to an intergalactic jail somewhere in the Big Dipper constellation.”

“I don’t know if there are any colonies out there.”

“Guess we’ll have to see – you have a space pirate friend, right? If we send one of these drones, he might be able to follow it!”

“Lars is somewhere in the Andromeda Galaxy!” Steven cried, “I can only reach him through Lion, who’s not here right now! Besides, we don’t know how fast these things go! Gem ships can travel at light speed but it’s not an easy process for anyone involved, but if this thing  _ doesn’t  _ travel that fast, it could be decades before it ever reaches its destination.”

“Yes, that’s a good point,” Ford admitted, staring at the pods in front of him, “We don’t even know if the jail is even there at all! Oh well.” He sighed and turned back to Steven with a smile, “We’ve learned one thing for sure today: this is no Gem ship. I wonder what that could mean?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

“Well, they have yet to bother us. I suggest we leave it for now and see what Pearl says about all of this.”

“Right.”

At that, the two of them began to head back, Ford leading him through tunnels and hallways back up to the main part where the rope still dangled. He grabbed onto it and began to climb, but Steven waited at the bottom, pretending to check his phone even though there was still no service. 

About halfway up, he heard Ford cry out and saw his hands slip, letting go of the rope as he began to fall. Quickly, Steven put his phone away and leapt up to grab Ford, holding him in a bridal carry and gently floating down again.

“Oh, thank you Steven,” Ford said, sighing as he looked at the hole above them, “Maybe I really am getting too old to go exploring.”

“Just don’t go alone,” Steven suggested before touching down then leaping back up, making it out of the ship easily.

“You know,” Ford said once Steven set him down, “Dipper is coming back in a few weeks and he’s a very wonderful assistant, but your abilities would be extremely helpful during our adventures.”

“I’d be happy to help,” Steven told him, “But I don’t want to impede on anything.”

“Not at all! You know, you should get a job at the Shack! Stanley would be happy to hire you!”

“Oh but I –”

“You’re quite strong, you’ll be able to do all the heavy lifting! And the kids are gonna love you, and quite frankly, they could use a guardian who can produce a magical shield.” 

“Um, thank you, but I’m happy to just volunteer.”

Ford laughed, then clapped Steven on the shoulder, “Steven, my brother gave you a life lesson, here’s mine: do not ever turn down a free job.”

Steven smiled sheepishly, “Well, alright. I’ll take it.”

As the two of them shook hands on top of the ancient spacecraft, Steven was given his first real job.


	5. Steven is Not Human

Steven actually really enjoyed working at the Mystery Shack.

He worked about five days a week. He usually did handy-man work, but he also interacted with the customers well enough that he sometimes covered the gift shop. Now that summer had started, tourist season was kicking into high-gear which meant more people. Steven liked meeting them, talking to everyone. But he also liked the times when he could just replace a lightbulb quietly.

A few days into the official start of summer vacation, Steven found that the Pines Twins were not at the Shack. This was strange, as it was rare for either of them to leave the house at the same time.

“Hey, Steven!” Wendy greeted as he came in the back entrance. He had on his uniform, which was really just his shorts and a Mystery Shack green shirt. It was too hot to wear a jacket, so he’d recently gotten his ears pierced and started wearing star earrings. 

“Hey Wendy. Where are Stan and Ford?”

“They went to pick up the kids.”

“Oh yeah,” Steven said, “I forgot Dipper and Mabel were coming back today. Just uh, make sure you don’t say anything to them. About me.”

“I won’t,” Wendy assured him, “But why not? Trust me, the kids will  _ love  _ you, especially since you’re a magical half-alien superhero.”

“Which is great, and I’ll probably tell them soon, but I don’t want them to know that just yet. I kinda just want them to know me as Steven first. I mean,” Steven smiled awkwardly, “Everyone else in my life mostly knew me either as Rose, Pink Diamond, or that weird alien kid who lived on the part of the beach where no one was supposed to go.”

“Okay, that’s fair,” Wendy admitted, “But I don’t think your secret will be safe for long. Dipper is scary good at uncovering secrets and mysteries, and Mabel is chatty enough to get anyone to spill the beans. I’ll cover for you as best as I can, but those kids uncovered a 30-year old conspiracy and fought against an interdimensional demon.”

“Oh yeah, that’s another reason I don’t want them to know just yet,” Steven said, “You guys have told me a lot about Bill, and I have a couple of the same powers as him like dream-travelling and possession.”

“Yeah, but you’d never use those powers to hurt people!”

“Of course not, but it could be scary. Certainly suspicious.”

“Okay yeah, that’s fair.”

Before anything else could be said, they heard the sound of Stan’s car pulling into the driveway. Soos suddenly came bounding into the room, flinging the door open and yelling, “DUDES!”

Melody came after him, laughing gently. She and Wendy followed Soos, with Steven in the rear, hanging back so that everyone could be reunited.

By the time they got outside, Soos was already clutching two pre-teens in his arms as they laughed. They both had curly brown hair and wide smiles. The girl wore a bright green sweater and had braces on her teeth. The boy had a thick brown hat with earflaps and a blue vest.

“Hey, Wendy!” The boy called when he saw her. Soos let them go so they could approach Wendy and Melody.

“Melody, you moved to Gravity Falls?” The girl asked eagerly.

“Yeah, I finished school a little early so I came back here. I’ve been working here at the Shack with everyone.”

“That’s so great!”

“Hey, who’s that?” This came from the boy. At this point, Steven had assumed that he was Dipper (based on the hat) and his sister was Mabel (based on the sweater and braces). Dipped had seen Steven standing back.

“Hi,” Steven greeted, raising a hand in greeting, “My name’s Steven. I’m working here at the Mystery Shack.”

The two twins had very different reactions. Dipper’s eyes narrowed in suspicion while Mabel’s eyes widened and she grinned.

“Hey! I’m Mabel! I like your earrings!” She stuck out her hand eagerly as Steven approached.

He took it and shook her hand as he smiled back, “It’s nice to meet you Mabel. Everyone here has told me all about you and Dipper.”

“What did they tell you?” Dipper asked.

“That you two love a good mystery – it’s why they call you the Mystery Twins!”

“Alright, alright,” Stan said, “Glad everyone is introduced, but the kids should get unpacking! Steven, I need you to help me move something.”

* * *

“I don’t trust him.”

“Aw, c’mon Dipper!” Mabel complained as she put up another poster, “You’ve only just met him! He seems really cool!”

“You thought that a bunch of gnomes and a guy who made out with his own puppets were  _ cool _ ,” Dipper countered.

“So I’ve had a couple of failed summer romances, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t think Steven’s cool!”

“Something about him is off,” Dipper grumbled, sitting down on his bed and opening up his own notebook. The two of them were just finishing unpacking in their old room. Over the past year, Dipper had kept his own notebook. A handful of strange things happened in California, mostly ghosts – nothing quite like Gravity Falls. He looked through it, nibbling on his pen as he did.

As he was looking in his book, he heard something outside. He looked out the window and clenched his jaw, chomping down on his pen and spluttering at the ink in his mouth.

“Dipper, you good?”

“Look outside,” he managed, wiping his mouth and tongue.

“Woah! Steven’s strong!”

Dipper assumed that Mabel saw what he had seen: Steven carrying a boulder that was easily twice as big as him.

“That’s physically impossible,” Dipper said as he moved beside his sister to look out the window, “Look at him! He’s not even breaking a sweat!”

“Maybe it’s a fake boulder,” Mabel offered, “It could be made of styrofoam or something.”

“It doesn’t  _ look  _ fake.”

As they watched, Stveen set the boulder down. When he did, small cracks appeared in the cound and they could feel a slight vibration.

“Okay, so it might be real. Maybe he’s just really strong?”

“No human is that strong,” Dipper said, “Steven is not human.”

“So...what is he?”

“I dunno. But I’m going to find out.”


	6. The Water Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys!!!! I feel kinda bad bc I love this fic, but I have two other major ones and I keep coming up with new ideas. It's really hard for me to shelf a fic, but I'm learning how to so tht I can update this one and a few others a little more lol
> 
> anyways, thanks for your patience! Hope y'all're staying safe!!!
> 
> Happy reading:)

Dipper had made it his personal mission to learn everything he could about Steven Universe.

During their year back home in California, Dipper had been disappointed. He figured that since his eyes had been opened by the magic and mystery of Gravity Falls, he would be able to find that same magic and mystery everywhere he went. When he returned home, he did so with high hopes and wide eyes.

Unfortunately, the most his area had to offer him were some meek ghost that could either be talked down or banished within an hour. Even the kids at their school seemed harmless compared to what Dipper and Mabel had faced during their summer in Gravity Falls. Dipper had fought an interdimensional demon – a couple of middle-school bullies were nothing.

Dipper had gotten pretty excited during their trip back to Gravity Falls, before remembering that he’d basically already solved most of her major mysteries. While the town’s strangeness was heartily accepted, Dipper wasn’t expecting anything too exciting.

But then Steven Universe had stumbled into their lives and given Dipper a new purpose.

Steven worked at the Shack as a general handyman like Soos, but he also manned the register when Wendy was otherwise busy. He was there pretty much every day, so the twins interacted with him a lot.

He seemed pretty cool, but in a way that was vastly different than the  _ cool  _ that Dipper and Mabel had grown up with. The cool kids that they knew were rough, tough, and rowdy. They were pretty nice for the most part, but Wendy’s friends liked to trash abandoned convenience stores, graffiti, and to chill in graveyards. Steven did none of those things.

Instead, he sang cute songs, made flower crowns, and wore pink. A  _ lot  _ of pink.

“So,” Dipper said, about a week into the summer, “why do you wear so much pink?”  
“It’s my favourite colour,” Steven replied cheerfully as he was restocking the shelves.

“Why? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not at all! I just always really liked the colour pink… Plus it uh. It reminds me of my mom a lot.”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah – she died when I was born, so I never got to meet her. But I’ve got lots of pictures and videos and st- uh, stuff. She was a very pink person.”

“Oh.” Dipper put down the pen he’d been holding. He hadn’t meant to get this sentimental this quickly, “I’m sorry about your mom.”

“All good!” Steven assured him with a smile, “I worked through all the ‘Mom’ stuff a while ago, so it’s really all good.”

“Worked through it?” Dipper asked.

Steven’s smile turned a little sheepish, “Uh, yeah. I’ve uh, I’ve had a lot of weird and scary stuff happen in my life, so I’ve been seeing a therapist. It’s been really great, honestly.”

“I didn’t know there was a therapist here in Gravity Falls.”

“Oh, no,” Steven said with a laugh as he stacked the empty boxes, “She’s back in Delmarva. We do video call sessions, since I’ve been travelling.”

“Right.”

Well, seeing a therapist was a really human thing to do, and also interesting. It couldn’t help but pique Dipper’s interest – what kind of weird and scary stuff had happened to Steven? Before he could ask, Mabel came in with her friends.

“Girls, meet Steven!” She said proudly, “Steven, meet Candi and Grenda.”

“Oh hey!” Steven said with a smile, “I’m guessing you’re friends of Mabel’s?”

“Yeah, we met when she came down last summer!” Grenda replied.

“We’re BFFs!”

Steven laughed a little, “That’s sweet. So what’re you guys up to today?”

“We’re just hanging around the Shack. Hey, where are Gruncle Stan and Gruncle Ford?”

“I think they’re in the basement,” Steven said, “Working on some project. Oh, that reminds me, I gotta go help out. I’ll see you guys later!” Steven waved before opening the door behind the vending machine and heading downstairs.

“Oh he  _ is  _ cute!” Candi gushed once he was gone.

“Maybe even cuter than Marius, but don’t tell him I said that.”

“Right?” Mabel said proudly, “You should hear him when he sings girls,  _ ugh _ !”

“Are you serious?” Dipper asked, still sitting behind the counter, “Steven’s like, eighteen.”

“Hey, you had a crush on Wendy last summer,” Mabel argued, “and she’s sixteen! Besides, we’re not  _ actually  _ trying to date Steven. We just think he’s cute!”

“Yeah, well, there’s something weird about him,” Dipper said, flipping through his notes, “Just yesterday I saw him meditating on the roof.”

“Maybe he just likes to be higher up,” Mabel suggested.

“Yeah, but the only way up to the roof is through the balcony, and I waited in that room all day!” Dipper argued, “I waited until I saw him wandering around in the backyard!”

“He might’ve just gone down through the trees,” Candi suggested, “Wendy does it all the time!”

“I don’t know how she does it,” Grenda said with a sigh, “Last time I tried it, I knocked out a tooth.”

“No, no, I would’ve seen if he did that!” Dipper snapped his book shut, “There wasn’t a ladder or anything, but he was on the roof and then he  _ wasn’t. _ That’s weird!”

“Maybe he’s a gymnast,” Mabel suggested.

“So he just jumped two storeys? Oh! And don’t you think it’s strange that he’s allowed into the basement pretty much whenever he wants, and he’s helping Stan and Ford with their projects? I know he’s good with tools, but so is Soos, and he’s  _ way  _ more trustworthy than Steven!”

“Okay, that is weird,” Mabel admitted, “Even  _ we’re  _ not allowed down there without permission.”

“Exactly! We need to see what they’re up to.”

“We’ll check it out later – in the meantime, us three are doing each other’s nails!”

* * *

Steven was done his work in the basement by the time Candi and Grenda left, so there was no point in the two of them trying to sneak downstairs. Once the shop was closed, Steven sat himself down on the balcony over the entrance to the living space of the Mystery Shack. He had his ukulele and sang – to himself or everyone, Dipper didn’t know.

“Hey!” Dipper said as he poked his head out from the window, “Mind if I join you?”

Steven smiled at him, “Of course not!”

Dipper was slightly disappointed that he hadn’t even startled Steven, but he still climbed up. Steven shuffled over a bit so Dipper had room. 

“Where did you learn to play?” Dipper asked, still holding onto his notebook, though he hadn’t opened it yet.

“My dad is a musician,” Steven explained, strumming the strings lightly, “I’ve been able to play instruments for as long as I can remember. I can do guitar, drums, keyboard, but Dad taught me the ukulele first.”

“Does your dad still live in Beach City?”

“Uh huh.”

“What’s he do? If, uh, you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not at all – he owns a car wash and he teaches some music classes. He actually used to be a rockstar.”

“Wait, actually?” Dipper asked. At this, he  _ did  _ open up his notebook, “Your dad was actually a rockstar?”

“Rockstar is kind of an overstatement,” Steven admitted with a little laugh, “He did a few gigs, travelled across the country, sold a handful of records and tee-shirts. Actually, most of my shirts that I had growing up were old merch of his.”

“So...you grew up with your dad?”

“Yes and no.” Steven shrugged, “I spent my early years with dad, but when I turned 10 I moved in with the Cry- uh, my mom’s friends. They all lived together in this beach house and Dad’s carwash was a ten minute walk from the house, so they were all pretty equally involved.”

“That’s an...interesting living situation.”

“I know.” Steven laughed, “It’s nothing like the nuclear family dynamic you might be used to. But I turned out alright.”

“Don’t you go to therapy?”

“Yeah, but for other stuff.”

“Right.”

Dipper was about to ask another question when a voice suddenly called up to them.

“Hey boys! Down here!”

They both turned their heads to see Wendy waving at them from below. They hadn’t even noticed the van coming down the way.

“Hey Wendy!” They both called.

“You wanna come with us?” Wendy called up, “We’re going up to the water tower!”

“I have my car!” Steven yelled down, “I’ll bring the twins and meet you guys there!”

“Okay!”

“Wanna text Mabel and see where she’s at?”

“Uh, sure.”

Minutes later, the three of them were in Steven’s car. Mabel and Dipper sat in the back with Steven in the front. Before they could go to the water tower, Steven had to stop for gas. Dipper used this opportunity to spill what he’d learned about Steven – his therapy, his mother and her friends, his rockstar dad.

“Sounds like Steven’s led an interesting life,” Mabel noted.

“Yeah, but he’s hiding something. Before, when he talked about his mother’s friends, he almost called them something. He said “the Crys” before correcting himself.”

“Maybe they were in a band, Dipper.”

“But what about his therapy?”

“What about it?”

“Well he didn’t say what he went to therapy  _ for. _ I keep wanting to ask him, but we were interrupted.”

“Oh my god Dipper!” Mabel cried, “You can’t just  _ ask  _ him why he’s seeing a  _ therapist _ !”

“Why not?” Dipper asked, “It’s information!”

“Because it’s rude!” Mabel told him, “Therapy is like,  _ super  _ personal! You can’t just ask people why they go to therapy. And what if he responds with something super messed up but perfectly human? What would you do? Hmm?”

“Okay, okay!” Dipper held up his hands in surrender, “I won’t ask him! I didn’t know it was that big of a deal.”

“Well, it is. Why are you so desperate to get answers from him? Maybe he’s just really strong – you have  _ any  _ other evidence he’s not human?”

“The roof –”

“He could’ve climbed down without you seeing.”

“Well then no! But it’s only been a week! I’m sure I’ll find something!”

“Find what?”

They both stopped talking once Steven got back in the car. He smiled at them in the rearview mirror.

“Uh, more mysteries in the town,” Dipper lied, “We’ve been looking for them ever since we got back.”

“I’m sure you’ll find some!” Steven said cheerfully as they drove away, “This town is sure to be filled with mysteries!”

It wasn’t long before they got to the water tower, where all of the other kids were hanging around at the bottom, lounging in the shade of the early evening.

“Hey, it’s the Mystery Twins!” Lee greeted, “Long time no see!”

“Welcome back!” Nate said as they sat down.

“Uh Steven, I like your jacket and your shirt.”

This came from Thompson, whom Steven sat beside. Steven was wearing a light blue tee-shirt with a star on the front with a pink bomber jacket, as the temperature had dropped a bit.

“Thanks!” Steven said cheerfully.

“What’re all the buttons?” Tambry asked.

“They’re from all the places I’ve been on the road trip. I try to find a button, pin, or patch wherever I go to a new city. Oh, I need one for Gravity Falls.”

“The mall probably has some,” Wendy said, “Hey, that patch on your shoulder looks familiar – the ghost that says  _ killer _ .”

“It’s a patch from my friend Sadie’s band. They’ve been broken up for about a year because they each did their own thing, but they’re all still friends.”

“Wait a minute,” Robby said, sitting up, “Do you know Sadie Killer? Like, from Sadie Killer and the Suspects?”

This caught the attention of the entire group. Dipper vaguely recalled the name – they were some kind of grunge, punk,  _ something  _ band that Wendy had been obsessed with because they’d recently broken up. Apparently the lead singer still made music, but that was about it.

“Yeah, we’re good friends! Are you guys fans?”

“Uh, yeah!” Tambry cried, “We’ve been following them since they started releasing music!”

“We have all their songs on vinyl!” Nate said.

“We all bought tickets to Sadie’s show in Portland and we were super bummed that her tour got cancelled!” Lee told them.

“Ah, sorry about that – the cancellation is sort of my fault,” Steven admitted, “My dad was their tour manager and he had to come back to Beach City halfway through.”

“What?” Robbie exclaimed, “ _ Why _ ?”

“Well… I sort of had a little mental breakdown after I proposed to my girlfriend and she said no.”

“ _ What _ ?” This came from the group at large, followed by a ton of other questions.

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend?”

“Where is she?”

“Why did she say no?”

“Who is she?”

“How old is she?”

“Are you guys still together?”  
“How could she say no to you?”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Steven said, blushing a weird shade of bright pink as he held up his hands, “It’s all good! Her name is Connie, she’s seventeen,  _ yes  _ we’re still together, and she said no because I proposed when I was sixteen.” Steven chuckled a little nervously, “Honestly, it was a horrible move in hindsight.”

“Why did you propose?” Mabel asked quietly, though eagerly.

“I uh, well, I was kinda lost,” Steven admitted. He fiddled with his hands a bit awkwardly, “A lot of people in my life were moving on and I was kind of left behind, so I didn’t really know what to do. Connie’s about a year younger than me, but she was prepping for college, preparing for her future. She knew exactly what she wanted, and I wanted to be a part of that. I’m a bit of a romantic, so I thought that by marrying her, it would solve my problems.” Steven laughed again, this time a little lighter, “And to be entirely fair, she didn’t say  _ no.  _ It was more of a  _ not yet. _ ”

“Well that’s cute,” Mabel said.

“You got a picture?” Wendy asked.

After that, it turned to them talking about their friends and love lives – successful and failed. Dipper had missed the friend group, and their group seemed to have accepted Steven just as quickly as it did Dipper and Mabel.

When the sun set, they still remained at the water tower, goofing around and sharing stories. Finally, it reached that point of the night that is guaranteed to happen with teenagers on a summer night – they do some dumb shit.

“Hey Thompson, I dare you to climb the water tower.”

This came from Nate, followed by a manic grin from Lee.

“Uh...I don’t think it’s safe,” Thompson mumbled.

“It’s fine!” Robbie assured, “I climb this thing all the time! See that explosion, and that grenade?”

“I thought that was a cupcake and a thumbs up.” Steven frowned, “I liked the thumbs up better.”

“So get up there so we can take a picture of you by the thumbs up!” Wendy cheered, “Thompson! Thompson!”

The cheer was picked up by the rest of the group, except for Steven. He obviously noticed how nervous Thompson looked, so he put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

“Hey, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No,” Thompson said with a determined smile, “I will!”

“Yeah!!!!” The group cheered enthusiastically.

They continued cheering as Thompson slowly climbed the ladder up to the water tower. There a couple of times where he paused – whether to steel himself on or catch his breath, Dipper wasn’t sure.

Finally, Thompson reached the top. He shimmied along the water tub before coming in front of the thumb up. Once their friends pulled out their phones, Thompson took his hands off the railing to raise them in a shout of triumph, the rest of them cheering from the ground.

“Can I come down now?” Thompson asked.

“Yeah!” Wendy called up.

“Be careful!” Steven cried.

And then...something happened, but it was hard to tell  _ what  _ exactly, because it happened so quick.

Thompson slipped or something, because he fell against the railing. It broke under his sudden weight, destroying the barrier between him and the open air as there was a sudden blur of pink.

But he didn’t fall.

Instead, Steven was there, stopping him from falling off the ledge.

Their friends shrieked, crying out to see if the two were okay. Steven assured them that they were and led Thompson back down the ladder slowly. They laughed about it when Thompson landed, and he was blushing profusely.

Dipper hardly noticed any of these things.

He simply turned to Mabel and grinned.

“How’s that evidence for you?”


	7. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lululu don't mind me, just haven't posted for this fic in months lol. It was on the verge of abandonment but then a bunch of people started commenting and I need that attention so....yeah. Here it is lol
> 
> I hope y'all're staying safe, and happy reading:)

Steven sometimes stayed at the Shack.

It didn’t happen very often, but if it was late and they were tired and the roads were bad, Steven crashed on one of the blow-up mattresses in Ford’s lab.

And that night, Steven had been working late and there was heavy rainfall outside, as well as thunder and lightning. So, he was sleeping in the basement with Ford, the rest of the Shack sleeping soundly.

Well, minus Dipper and Mabel.

They were in the livingroom, watching an old horror movie on tv.

“Why don’t they run faster?” Dipper asked, gesturing at the screen, “Zombies are so slow.”

“Probably the same reason why they don’t climb a tree,” Mabel noted, sitting upside down on the chair, trying and failing to toss popcorn in her mouth, “People in horror movies are stupid.”

Just then, the screen crackled, the picture fizzling in and out.

“Aw, c’mon,” Dipper grumbled, standing up to smack the screen, “Did that fix it?”

“– _ aimond! Yellow, Blue!” _

“Dipper, stop!” Mabel commanded, twisting upright, spilling some of the popcorn, “Look at this!”

He moved back in front of the screen and gasped. The picture had changed completely – it was filled with strange women of all shapes, colours, and sizes. And Dipper  _ meant  _ all shapes, colours, and sizes. He saw lithe blue women with watery wings, burly purple women with wild hair, stout red women with square hairdos. 

But perhaps the most eye-catching were the three giants that stood before the viewer, true titans. They were three women; a yellow, blue, and white. And not like caucasian either, a  _ pure white  _ woman with a robe made of starlight and a glow that hurt to look at.

“What is this?” Mabel wondered.

“I have no idea,” Dipper mumbled, looking at the screen. The viewer looked down and saw themselves wearing a pink, poofy uniform. They looked down at their hands and gasped.

“ _ Come now, Starlight, _ ” the white titan crooned, “ _ There’s no need for any of that. Come, take a seat _ .”

“ _ I’m not her! I’m not Pink!” _

The twins looked at each other in shock. That was Steven’s voice.

They watched the screen, enraptured by what they saw, the titans towering over Steven as they frowned down at him, shadows enveloping the world as he fell into it. He floated though, landing in an old, abandoned, overgrown garden. It looked like it had been beautiful, once. But now vines clung to everything, and weeds poked through the stones.

Waiting at the bottom of the stairs was a young girl, also dressed in pink, her hair done in buns that looked like little hearts.

“ _ Spinel?” _ Steven cried, walking towards her, arm outstretched, “ _ Spinel, what are you doing here?” _

“ _ I’m waiting, _ ” a high-pitched voice said plainly, “ _ we’re playing a game. Are you here to play with me?” _

Then she turned, her skin darkening as tears fell down her face, her appearance becoming more feral.

“ _ You left me! Forgot about me, to play with your new friends!” _

“ _ No! That wasn’t me!” _

_ “But  _ this  _ was!” _ Then she pointed angrily at a pool of water, images swirling around. Steven looked into it, and they took up the entirety of the screen.

Dipper and Mabel were...horrified.

Now, the two of them had fought an interdimensional demon that started Weirdmageddon the summer before, so they had seen some Shit. But this...this was an entirely new genre of horror.

They saw a young, purple woman pull back her hair, only to be horribly disfigured, her skin building out in odd places, still smiling. They saw a thin, pale woman get run through with a sword before disappearing in a puff of sparkles. A tall Black woman get hit with something, her glasses falling off as she fell backwards, three eyes staring as she split down the middle, disappearing in another poof. 

There were a series of poofs, all women, all different colours. 

“ _ No!”  _ Steven cried, the sound much louder than the TV should’ve allowed, “ _ No, please! _ ”

And then there was a boy. He looked human, like he was a teenager. He was riding some strange eyeball machine, but he was knocked off, slammed against a giant rock pillar with a sickening  _ crunch  _ before falling down, far, far below.

“ **_NO!”_ ** Steven screamed, this time causing the TV to flicker and shake.

“We have to go help Steven!” Mabel decided, scrambling to her feet.

“He’s down there with Ford, we gotta hurry!” Dipper agreed, the two of them running to the vending machine, punching in the code and rushing downstairs as fast as they could.

When they got into the place where Ford and Steven slept, they were shocked to find the room bathed in a bright pink glow, coming from the restless figure on the cot beside Ford.

“No, please, no,” Steven mumbled, glowing even brighter.

“We’ve gotta wake him up,” Mabel said, moving towards him.

“Woah, Mabel!” Dipper said, grabbing her arm, “We don’t know what could happen if he wakes up! He’s not human!”

“What are you two –  _ great Scott! _ ”

They both turned as Ford woke up, throwing the blankets off him. They might have laughed at his fuzzy blue pyjama pants had it not been for the severity of the situation. He pushed past them and knelt next to Stevem shaking him awake.

“Steven, Steven, my boy, you have to wake up!”

“W-what?”

As Steven’s eyes cracked open, the glow faded, and the room was dark again. But for a moment, his eyes didn’t look normal – they were pink, with diamond-shaped irises.

_ The eyes. _

Steven sat up, rubbing his face, looking around the room. Then he sighed, “I was doing it again, wasn’t I?”

“Our TV was going crazy!” Mabel cried, “We saw your dream!”

“Yeah, that happens sometimes. Sorry about that. I hope it didn’t freak you guys out.”

“You were glowing pink!” Dipper said, “What’s with that? And it’s not the first time! What  _ are  _ you?”

“Dipper,” Ford warned.

“It’s okay,” Steven said with a small smile, “I’m not human. I figured you guys would find out sooner or later. I promise I’ll tell you everything, but in the morning, okay? I’m really tired.”

Dipper wanted to contest this, to demand to know what Steven was  _ right now _ , but Ford’s hard stare was enough to keep his mouth shut.

“Alright,” he said.

“Are you gonna have another nightmare?” Mabel asked, “Want us to get you something to drink?”

“I’m okay, thank you. I’m usually alright once I wake up.”

“And I think it’s time you two went to bed,” Ford decided, “We’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay, good night!” Mabel said. 

“Night,” Dipper mumbled as the two headed back upstairs. Dipper didn’t speak, he was lost in his thoughts.

“Alright, out with it!” Mabel demanded once they made it back upstairs to clean up from their movie night.

“What?”

“You were right!” Mabel said, “Steven’s not human, and he admitted it. So why aren;t you gloating?”

“Because there’s something that’s bothering me,” Dipper admitted, “Manipulating our TV in his dreams like that, the glow, it’s  _ weird.  _ And I mean, it’s weird for us. Plus, did you see his eyes!”

“Sorta,” Mabel said with a shrug, “They were pink, right?”

“Yeah, with diamond irises. Now who else do we know who can manipulate dreams who has strange-coloured eyes when he possesses someone?”

“Bill,” Mabel realized.

There was a moment of silence, the two of them holding their breath. Bill had been defeated, and they knew that, but there was still a tense moment, wondering if he would show up, his cackle in the air.

When the night remained silent, Dipper spoke again.

“This  _ can’t  _ be a coincidence,” Dipper reasoned, beginning to pace the room as Mabel picked up the spilled popcorn, “I mean, the summer after we defeat Bill, some mysterious guy from out of town who  _ claims  _ he’s just on a road trip just drops in and is suddenly buddy-buddy with our Grunkles and everyone else at the Shack?  _ And  _ he has the same powers Bill had!”

“Dipper, will you stop pacing! You’re squishing the popcorn.”

“Oh, sorry. But you see what I mean, right?”

“I do,” Mabel admitted as she sat back on her haunches, “but Steven seems way nicer than Bill. He was always creepy, and he never made flower crowns for us.”

“Well, I’m not fooled. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Dipper, so have I.” Mabel frowned, “Just because Steven isn’t human doesn’t mean he’s bad. Remember the Multi-Bear? Or the Manotaurs? Or –”

“None of them glowed pink and could move at the speed of light!” Dipper argued, “Steven’s way more powerful than pretty much anything here in Gravity Falls. At least we knew how to fight Bill, but I’ve got no clue what Steven even  _ is. _ ”

“Well, he’s gonna tell us in the morning,” Mabel said, “So there’s that.”

“But what if he lies?”

“Dipper. You’re so paranoid,” Mabel complained as she got up, dusting off her nightgown, “And if he ends up being a crazy psycho who can shoot lasers out of his eyes, then we’ll deal with it. C’mon, we defeated a  _ demon,  _ we can handle whatever Steven is!”

“Yeah. Yeah! You’re right!” Dipper smiled, “We can handle anything!”

* * *

The next morning, the Pines twins came downstairs to see Steven sitting at the kitchen table, a hot cocoa in his hands. He smiled at them, and they noticed he had some slight circles under his eyes.

“Morning guys – did you sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Dipper said as he and Mabel sat, “but it looks like you didn’t.”

Steven shrugged, “Didn’t want to freak you guys out again, kept waking up in the night. I don’t work today, so I’ll probably just go to my apartment and take a nap. But here, I’ll make you guys some breakfast. You guys want waffles?”

“Yeah, but we don’t have any toaster waffles,” Mabel said with a sigh, splaying her arms out across the table and resting her chin on it, “Soos ate them all.”

“Oh, I can make waffles from scratch. I know Stan has a waffle iron around here somewhere – ah! There it is!”

“You know how to make waffles from scratch?!” Mabel cried excitedly.

“I make them all the time! The Gems don’t really eat – well, Amethyst does, but she eats anything. Anyways, I learned how to cook pretty early on, and waffles were always easy for me to make. I basically lived off of waffles and local fruit during my road trip.”

“Cool. Who are the Gems?” Dipper asked, opening his notebook.

Steven, who was grabbing the ingredients, looked back at them and sighed.

“Right. Okay. First off, I just wanna say that I didn’t tell you guys earlier because Wendy and them told me about what happened last summer, with Bill.”

“So you know Bill?” Dipper accused.

Steven shook his head, “Nope. I just know what they told me. I’ve dealt with a lot of weird stuff, but an interdimensional triangle demon wasn’t one of them. Anyways, I didn’t want you guys to worry and think I was some weird creature come to kill you or something. I know going through something scary like that can make you nervous, and I didn’t want you to be afraid of me.”

“Okay…” Dipper said, “So...what are you?”

Steven sighed as he began to put the ingredients in a bowl, “It’s...a long story. How much do you want to hear?” 

Dipper clicked his pen and leaned in, “ _ Everything. _ ”


End file.
